Fore Street Topsham, Exeter

Reverend Paul Collings BTh (Hons) - - - - paul.collings@methodist.org.uk - - - - 01392 206229 - - - - 07941 880768

About Us

We are a community of faith seeking to discover the face of Jesus Christ in our Church, in our Community and in our Commitment.

Monday, 30 September 2024

Daily Devotions


Is there a Difference Between Praise and Worship? You have probably heard the terms praise and worship used interchangeably in church. Are they really the same thing?

Praise is an expression of gratitude towards God because of what He has done. 


Worship is entering into God’s presence and having  reverence for who He is. Worship declares Him worthy.


The difference between praise and worship is how we approach them. By practicing praise in our daily lives, we will live in a state of worship. It is hard to separate the two. Worship gives praise to God, and praise is an element of that worship. 


Graham Kendrick says, “Worship has been misunderstood as something that arises from a feeling which "comes upon you," but it is vital that we understand that it is rooted in a conscious act of the will, to serve and obey the Lord Jesus Christ.” He also quotes Lamar Boschman"Worship is first and foremost for His benefit, not ours, though it is marvellous to discover that in giving Him pleasure, we ourselves enter into what can become our richest and most wholesome experience in life."


Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was present at the Vienna Music Hall, where his oratorio The Creation was being performed.  Weakened by age, the great composer was confined to a wheelchair.  As the majestic work moved along, the audience was caught up with tremendous emotion. When the passage "And there was light!" was reached, the chorus and orchestra burst forth in such power that the crowd could no longer restrain its enthusiasm.


The vast assembly rose in spontaneous applause.  Haydn struggled to stand and motioned for silence. With his hand pointed toward heaven, he said, "No, no, not from me, but from thence comes all!" Having given the glory and praise to the Creator, he fell back into his chair exhausted.


Worship of God has a context and an affect, as the the psalmist puts is,  “Worship the Lord in the splendour of holiness; Tremble [in submissive wonder] before Him, all the earth.” Psalm 96:9 (Amplified Bible) 


Heavenly Father, I praise You for Your infinite greatness and goodness. You are the Creator of heaven and earth, the source of all life. I worship You for Your unending mercy and love. May my life always reflect Your glory. Amen."


Saturday, 28 September 2024

Daily Devotions


Praise places our focus on God. One major benefit of praise is that it refocuses our minds. Instead of dwelling on a problem or situation, your focus is turned to the greatness of God. Paul new this when he wrote to the Philippians, “Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honourable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report: if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:7)

Paul is aware that some of those who have not only begun well on their faith journey, who have journeyed well, and struggled for the gospel, now appear to be having second thoughts. Perhaps they are counting the cost of following Jesus and are hesitating, and even now contemplating turning back.


A graduate who was a fine scholar and had a noble spirit volunteered to be a counsellor at a summer camp. Despite her abili­ties, she was required to peel potatoes in the kitchen. The leader of the camp, realising that this was quite a menial task for such a talented and highly intellectual young woman exclaimed, "It's too bad that a young woman of your education should have to peel potatoes." 


The graduate, a Christian looked up brightly and replied, "But, remember, I don't have to think about potatoes while I'm peeling them." 


The ap­plication is obvious. You can keep your soul out of the dust no matter what your task, if you centre your thoughts on the things mentioned in our text in the spirit of praise. 


An encounter with God is a dynamic, a two-way spiritual phenomenon, and we should have an expectation that God will lead us in our praise and worship, sometimes in a direction we didn’t expect or plan for.


Praising God allows the Holy Spirit to discipline our minds by dismissing suspicion and replacing it with hope and trust. What praise enables is that we can forego grudges and even flout envy. It enables us to be appreciative, be kind, be gentle. Perhaps we need to rejoice in the Lord a little more. Take pleasure in beauty and virtue. Clear away the cobwebs of doubt, frustration, and anger. Let our minds dwell on Christ and allow him to beautify your lifestyle.


God of peace,

cause us to rejoice in you always,

make us gentle to everyone,

keep us from being anxious about anything—

help us to ask you for what we need, with thanksgiving;

and let your peace

guard our hearts and minds

in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.


Friday, 27 September 2024

Daily Devotions


Praise provides refreshment. Life is exhausting. Praising God provides refreshment for our spirits. Praise can turn even the worst day around.  Did you know that in the majority of studies religious involvement is correlated with:-

  • well-being, 
  • happiness and life satisfaction; 
  • hope and optimism; 
  • purpose and meaning in life; 
  • higher self-esteem; 
  • better adaptation to bereavement; 
  • greater social support and less loneliness; 
  • lower rates of depression and faster recovery from depression; 
  • lower rates of suicide and fewer positive attitudes towards suicide; 
  • less anxiety; less psychosis and fewer psychotic tendencies; 
  • lower rates of alcohol and drug abuse; less delinquency and criminal activity; greater marital stability and satisfaction.' 

This is the conclusion of the largest literature review, and is endorsed by a former President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He laments the lack of attention given to the strong evidence: 'for anything other than religion and spirituality, governments and health providers would be doing their utmost to promote it'. 


Paul recognised the wellbeing benefits of praising God when he wrote, “ All praise goes to God, Father of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. He is the Father of compassion, the God of all comfort. He consoles us as we endure the pain and hardship of life so that we may draw from His comfort and share it with others in their own struggles.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4


In a sermon preached in 1871 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, in Newington , C. H. Spurgeon said, “Sometimes, even when prayer fails, praise will do it. It seems to gird up the loins. It pours a holy anointing oil upon the head and upon the spirit. It gives us a joy of the Lord which is always our strength. Sometimes, if you begin to sing in a dull frame, you can sing yourself up the ladder. Singing will often make the heart rise.”


Dear Heavenly Father, We come before you today with hearts full of gratitude and praise. We thank you for your goodness and faithfulness in our lives. You have been so good to us, and we are grateful for all that you have done in our hearts and lives. We ask that you bring to our memory all the wonderful things that you have done, so that we may be filled with gladness and rejoice in your goodness. Amen


Thursday, 26 September 2024

Daily Devoions


Praise reminds us who God is what God has done. The basis for praise is highlighting what God has done in history and in our current lives. When we praise Him, we are reminded of all the good bestowed on us  If we are going through a difficult time, we can use praise to show just how powerful God is and we gain the reminder of God’s strength every time we praise the Lord!

When times are tough, our thoughts are often pulled to the quickest solution or even produce fears about how things could get worse. At such times singing songs and shouting praise are not at the forefront of our minds.


But if we’re in a storm right now, praising God is EXACTLY what we need to do. That’s why the human condition seems to keep us focused on our problems—that’s not where our help comes from! Psalm 121:2 says our help comes from the Lord. Hallelujah!


Praising and worshipping God will actually do more to help our situation than anything else. 


I recently read of a man facing potential job loss. He recalled, “I remember driving home that day thinking what am I going to do? I have a wife and three kids at home; we had very little saving, what is going to happen? How will we make it?”


We have all had those times when life seemed to make an unexpected left turn. Suddenly, we are on a detour down a dark and dangerous path. We may have lost a job, lost a spouse, or our health. Whatever the reason we now face an uncertain future, and fear of tomorrow.

When we face difficult times, how are we to respond?


As strange as it may sound, learning to praise God during our difficult times can give us peace, hope and invites God right into the situation we are facing.


The Psalmist said,” I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. – Psalm 34:1


Praise is always a choice. Even in difficult times, we can choose to praise God. I can choose to allow fear and worry to control my heart and mind, or I can choose to praise the Lord and confess that He is in control. Lifting our voice amid difficult times is not always easy, but it is a choice. When we chose to praise the Lord even in hard times, inner joy is never far away.


Lord we praise you in that we are able  come to you convinced of many things but trusting very few. Holy God of limitless surprises, meet us as we enter your courts with praise. You enable us to touch that which we can not see as we shout hallelujah in spite of the situations we face. As we are enveloped in the joy of praise we dared to hope in you. Amen.


Wednesday, 25 September 2024

Daily Devotions


Today we consider the reality that Praise fosters joy. In worship it is very difficult to be in a bad mood when you are speaking or even singing about the positive attributes of our Father.

The psychologist Dr. Henry H. Goddard, undertook a research project on energy levels in children. He used an instrument he called the “ergograph.” Mind you how ever he got children to stand still long enough to connect them to the machine is a mystery. 


But he did, and his findings are fascinating. He found that when tired children are given a word of praise or encouragement, the ergograph shows an immediate upward surge of new energy. When the children are criticised and discouraged, the ergograph shows their physical energy takes a sudden nose-dive. Those results could be probably be duplicated in adults. When we are praised our energy levels go up. When we are criticised our energy levels go down.


In the Bible, praise and worship take centre stage, illustrating the profound connection between humanity and the divine. From David dancing before the Ark of the Covenant to the heavenly chorus in Revelation, Scripture abounds with vibrant examples of devotion. Take Miriam’s tambourine dance after the parting of the Red Sea, or the Psalms, overflowing with adoration and thanksgiving. Even in adversity, like Paul and Silas, singing hymns in prison, we see that worship remains a powerful expression of faith. These stories not only showcase the diverse forms of praise but also reveal its transformative power, inspiring believers across generations.


We read in. Psalm 89:15-16 “Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of Your presence, Lord. They rejoice all day long in Your wonderful reputation. They exult in Your righteousness.”


Worship and praise brings joy to the hearts of those who do so wholeheartedly, because God inhabits our praises (Psalm 22:3). As God inhabits our praises with His powerful presence, we are overcome with the joy of the Lord. As we sing our praises to God, we are stepping into our “garment of praise” we are called to wear continually as royal sons and daughters of the Lord.


Holy God,

your faithful love toward us never ends!

It is as sure and dependable 

as the sky over our heads.

We praise You!


Today with joy we praise and

offer you our worship 

and our thanksgiving;

to declare to any who will listen

that You are our God, 

and we are Your people.


May Your Spirit 

be at work among us as we worship,

opening our eyes 

to the light of Your presence in this place.


To You alone,

Faithful Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer,

be all glory and honour,

now and forever.  

Amen.


Tuesday, 24 September 2024

Daily Devotions


Today, let me introduce your to word praise in a new way. Have you ever thought about it, we find this word in the psalms and we find it in many of the loved hymns of the church. But what is it that we are doing when we praise God. I recently read that 'Praising God isn’t just part of a formula for a good Christian lifestyle. Praising God will change your life! It will also help you develop a deeper relationship with God.'


So what does the word praise signify? In Hebrew there are two words that standout when considering the idea of praise. The first, Hallel,  means to shine, to be boastful, to glorify – Hallel is found throughout the Bible as a Hebrew word for Praise. The root for Hallel gives us two more important words. One is Hallelujah, a combination of “praise” (Hallel) and the name Yahweh – God’s personal name in Hebrew.


The second word we find throughout the Book of Psalms (Sefer Tehillim), Tehilah is a praise song. It is a spontaneous instruction to bring forth light and celebration with songs, shouts, and holy noise.


So what is the nature of this praise. Again I turn to the writings of C.S.Lewis who says, “I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.“


In Psalm 138:1-4 we find a declaration of worthy praise. “To You, Lord, I give my whole heart, a heart filled with praise, for I am grateful; before the gods, my heart sings praises to You and You alone. I bow before You, looking to Your holy temple, and praise Your name, for Your unfailing love and Your truth; for You have placed Your name and Your word over all things and all times. On the day I needed You, I called, and You responded and infused my soul with strength.”


Paul of the Cross (1694–1775) priest and great moral teacher said, “Let everything in creation draw you to God. Refresh your mind with some innocent recreation and needful rest, if it were only to saunter through the garden or the fields, listening to the sermon preached by the flowers, the trees, the meadows, the sun, the sky, and the whole universe. You will find that they exhort you to love and praise God; that they excite you to extol the greatness of the Sovereign Architect Who has given them their being.”


May we pray with the great Isaac Watts.


I'll praise my maker while I've breath,
and when my voice is lost in death,
praise shall possess my noblest powers;
my days of praise are never past
while life and thought and being last
or immortality endures. Amen


Monday, 23 September 2024

Daily Devotions


Luke 21:1-4 “As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

Just over a month ago, the financial markets began to fall and again there was talk of recession. This often makes us all cautious, and it may be all the more necessary in these times of financial constraint to act with restraint. Yet, even in such situations, generosity can be a sign of the goodness of God.


Generosity of course is relative. Solomon prayed: Keep me from sacrifices that cost me nothing. Teach me true large-heartedness like that of the poor widow, a generosity that gives in secret, left hand not knowing what right hand is doing, and that gives until it hurts.


Jesus is surprisingly non-judgmental. He does not condemn the temple authorities for avarice or the rich who give alms out of their surplus wealth. He simply points out that the poor widow gives more than anyone else because she gives her last penny. She has left herself nothing to live on. Jesus allows us to draw our own conclusions and discover what implications the event has on us. We may well ask, what are my conclusions? Can I share them with Him in prayer?


It is estimated that if the widow's mite had been deposited at the "First National Bank, Jerusalem" to draw four percent interest biannually, the fund today would total £4 trillion.  If a bank on earth could multiply the widow's mite to such  an astronomical figure, think what treasures this dedicated woman will have in heaven where "moth and rust doth not corrupt."


Lord, help us to be generous and share the many gifts you have bestowed on us. Please help us to help those who cannot help themselves, teach us how to give and not count the cost.


Saturday, 21 September 2024

Daily Devotion


In 1 Timothy 6:17 Paul uses some strong words, “Charge those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” 

Sometimes, we think of the early Church was composed entirely of poor people and slaves. Here we see that even as early as this it had its wealthy members. They are not condemned for being wealthy nor told to give all their wealth away; but they are told what not to do and what to do with possessions.


What Paul is advocating is that their riches must not make them proud. They must not think themselves better than other people because they have more money than the poor. Nothing in this world gives anyone the right to look down on another, least of all the possession of wealth. He also says that those that have must not set their hopes on wealth. In the chances and the changes of life a people may be wealthy today and a pauper tomorrow; and it is folly to set one's hopes on what can so easily be lost.


He continues by saying that they must use their wealth to do good; that they must ever be ready to share; and that they must remember that the Christian is a member of a fellowship. In this way they are told that such wise use of wealth will build for them a good foundation in the world to come. As someone put it: "What I kept, I lost; what I gave I have.”


There is a famous Rabbinic story. A man called Monobaz had inherited great wealth, but he was a good, a kindly and a generous man. In time of famine he gave away all his wealth to help the poor. His brothers came to him and said: "Your fathers laid up treasure, and added to the treasure that they had inherited from their fathers, and are you going to waste it all?" He answered: "My fathers laid up treasure below: I have laid it up above. My fathers laid up treasure of Mammon: I have laid up treasure of souls. My fathers laid up treasure for this world: I have laid up treasure for the world to come."


William Barclay claims that, “Every time we could give and do not give lessens the wealth laid up for us in the world to come; every time we give increases the riches laid up for us when this life comes to an end.”


O Lord our God, maker of all things. Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts. With them we offer ourselves to your service and dedicate our lives to the care and redemption of all that you have made, for the sake of him who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen


Friday, 20 September 2024

Daily Devotions


In Psalm 119:36-38 we read, “Turn my heart to Your testimonies and not to dishonest gain. Turn my eyes away from gazing at vanity but revive me in Your ways. Fulfil Your word to Your servant, which leads to reverence for You.”

Earlier in the week we considered spiritual blindness as a block to spiritual generosity. Today, the text from the psalms seems to speak of spiritual distortion.


The telephone game is often used to teach people about problems in communication. The original message gets distorted because one of the messengers mishears what is said. If you play the game with children, though, you know that they will often intentionally change the message. This ruins the whole exercise. 


In similar fashion, some distortions in the way people think about the gospel are due to problems with their hearing and such auditory distortion often leads to a distorted vision. Other distortions are the result of an individual or group intentionally changing the message. Paul devotes much of his writings to correcting both kinds of these errors. But he is most passionate about the ones that are intentional distort the truth.


I wonder, was Paul's passion for seeing the truth a result of his Damascus Road experience, where out of his temporary loss of vision he came to see a truth and a generosity of spirit that had an impact upon so many. 


In 2 Corinthians 9:10-11 he writes, “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”


Maker of the fields, forests, and streams,

Your generous goodness comes to us new every day.

By the movement of your Spirit over our waters,

    at our tables, and among our gatherings,

help us to acknowledge your goodness,

give thanks for your gifts,

extend our table to the stranger,

and care for the land and water we share on this good earth,

through Jesus Christ, the fruitful vine,

our living water, and our bread of life. Amen.